FOURTH SECTION
DECISION
Application no. 37990/04
by Ion MOSCAL
against Moldova
The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 7 April 2009 as a Chamber composed of:
Nicolas Bratza, President,
Lech Garlicki,
Giovanni Bonello,
Ljiljana Mijović,
Ján Šikuta,
Mihai Poalelungi,
Nebojša Vučinić, judges,
and Lawrence Early, Section Registrar,
Having regard to the above application lodged on 23 August 2004,
Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case.
Having deliberated, decides as follows:
THE FACTS
The applicant, Mr Ion Moscal, is a Moldovan national who was born in 1949 and lives in Chişinău. The Moldovan Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent, Mr V. Grosu.
A. The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
The applicant was an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (“the Ministry”). On 30 January 1998 the applicant retired, but the Ministry continued to owe him salary arrears.
In 2000 the applicant initiated proceedings against the Ministry, seeking an order obliging the latter to pay him the arrears. On 2 May 2000, the Centru District Court awarded the applicant 4,673 Moldovan lei (MDL), equivalent to 408 euros (EUR) at the time, to be paid by his former employer. It also awarded the applicant MDL 611 (EUR 53) for costs and expenses. This judgment remained unchallenged and became final. Two enforcement warrants were issued.
On 20 May 2000 the applicant submitted the enforcement warrant to the Centru District Enforcement Department.
On 24 April 2003 and 28 February 2005 the applicant repeatedly requested the Enforcement Department to take measures to enforce the final judgment in his favour.
On 15 April 2005 the Ministry informed the applicant that it was unable to pay him the sum awarded by the judgment of 2 May 2000.
On 10 May 2005 the applicant brought a court action against the Ministry, seeking an order obliging the latter to pay him compensation for pecuniary damage on account of the non-enforcement of the final judgment of 2 May 2000.
On 27 June 2005 the Centru District Court dismissed the applicant's action as unfounded. The applicant appealed against that decision.
On 13 July 2005 the Ministry transferred MDL 4,673 (EUR 305) to the applicant's account. It informed the applicant that he could obtain the sum of MDL 611 from the Ministry's accountancy department at any time.
On 22 September 2005 the Chişinău Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by the applicant against the judgment of 27 June 2005.
On 28 December 2005 the Supreme Court of Justice upheld the Chişinău Court of Appeal's judgment.
COMPLAINTS
1. The applicant complained under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention that his right of access to court had been violated by the failure to enforce the final judgment in his favour within a reasonable time and to afford appropriate redress for the delayed enforcement.
2. The applicant also alleged that the failure to enforce the final judgment in his favour had violated his right to protection of property, as guaranteed by Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention.
THE LAW
On 27 February 2009 the Court received from the Government a friendly-settlement agreement reached with the applicant:
“1. The Government of Moldova undertake to pay Mr Ivan Moscal the sum of 500 (five hundred) euros with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights. This sum, which is to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, will be converted into Moldovan lei at the rate applicable on the date of payment, and free of any taxes that may be applicable. It will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the event of failure to pay this sum within the said three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on it, from expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.
2. The arrangement mentioned above will constitute the final settlement of the case.
3. The applicant shall declare his claims satisfied and shall withdraw the application no. 37990/04 Moscal v. Moldova, lodged with the European Court of Human Rights and notified to the Government on 16 December 2008.
4. The applicant declares that he waives any further claims against the Government of Moldova in respect of facts giving rise to this application, including any claims of non-pecuniary or pecuniary nature, or any other damage which could result from the judgment of the Centru District Court of 2 May 2000.
5. The parties shall inform the European Court about the present agreement and request the case to be struck out from the list of cases.”
The friendly-settlement agreement was signed by both the applicant and the Government and dated 27 February 2009.
The Court takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the application (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention). In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.
For these reasons, the Court unanimously
Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.
Lawrence EarlyNicolas Bratza
RegistrarPresident
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy